Jeff Horn vs Tim Tszyu: betting markets an insult to ‘The Hornet’
Jeff Horn will teach Tim Tszyu a boxing lesson. That’s according to ‘The Hornet’s’ former training partner Dennis Hogan, who unloaded on the people installing the fighting schoolteacher as an underdog.
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Tim Tszyu has been warned to brace for the first defeat of his professional career with the son of Kostya to be given a brutal masterclass by former world champion Jeff Horn.
That is the prediction of Australian super welterweight rival Dennis Hogan, who has expressed dismay at bookmakers installing Tszyu as the $1.45 favourite to beat Horn ($2.62) in their blockbuster in Townsville on August 26.
The unbeaten Tszyu has a formidable knockout ratio, having floored opponents in 11 of his 15 fights, but Hogan says the Sydney star will get a rude shock when he feels the power of ‘The Hornet’.
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Hogan had his heart broken on the global stage last year, losing two world-title bouts, including an epic 12-round slugfest against Jaime Munguina which the Brisbane-based pugilist still believes he won.
Hogan and Horn were stablemates for three years, with the pair having sparred countless times, and ‘The Hurricane’ believes Tszyu will be out of his depth at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
“Jeff is bringing Tim to school, I’m just telling you that now,” Hogan said.
“I don’t think Tim can win this fight. Jeff will bring everything into the ring and he will teach Tim a lesson.
“Jeff has something Tim hasn’t got - experience.
“Experience alone will win this fight for Jeff.
“I am not taking anything away from Tim, he is a good fighter, but he hasn’t faced the calibre of fighters that Jeff has faced.
“It’s great for Tim to get where he has and when you hear him talk, he is confident of getting the job done, but I feel like people are underestimating Jeff.
“Tim has beaten a few good fighters but I haven’t seen enough from him to think he can beat Jeff Horn.”
Hogan, who has won 28 of 32 fights with one draw, is stunned Tszyu is the hot favourite.
“I can’t believe Jeff is the underdog with bookmakers, it’s crazy,” he said.
“People who have named Tim as the favourite for this fight have no idea about the sport. A lot of people seem to be viewing Tim on the achievements of his dad and think he will somehow emulate his dad.
“But I know that genes only make up for so much. You can’t teach the experience of fighting Manny Pacquiao and Terence Crawford, you have to live it and Jeff has lived it.
“People are judging Jeff on losses to Zerafa and Crawford. You can’t criticise Jeff for losing to a world-class fighter like Crawford in his own country.
“Jeff has had a good mental and physical break from his win over (Michael) Zerafa. I have the same strength coach as Jeff and I know when he is fresh, he is a formidable opponent. He wasn’t fresh for the first Zerafa fight, but he will come into this hot and he will surprise Tszyu.
“Anything can happen in boxing, but Jeff will outbox Tim. When you look at dimensions and strategy and angles, Jeff has it all covered and I don’t know what Tim can rely on other than landing a knockout punch.
“That can always happen, but I don’t think it will this time for Tim.”
TSZYU SMIRKING AS CAMP DEFECTION LEAVES HORN FILTHY
By Jamie Pandaram
Tim Tszyu declared Jeff Horn is “already making excuses” ahead of their August 26 showdown, after the Brisbane fighter took aim at former fitness trainer Dundee Kim for helping his bitter rival.
Kim trained Tszyu in Brisbane three weeks ago, having already left Horn’s team after six years, without telling the fighter he would assist Tszyu.
Horn has hired former North Queensland Cowboys NRL player Chris Muckert to be his new fitness coach, but conceded he is still seething about Kim’s impromptu training session with Tszyu, captured on film by Queensland media.
“I was shocked and disappointed, I can’t believe that he would do that to me this early,” Horn said.
“If there was a fight in between, or a fighter who had nothing to do with me, I would understand. But to go straight away into my enemy’s camp and show him how I move is just a bit heartbreaking for myself.
“There are little things, I’ve been around Dundee for six years, that he could have given [Tszyu] knowledge into, I hope he didn’t but by the looks of the video, it looks like he was trying to tell him everything he could about me.
“I haven’t had a conversation with him, I would have expected him to call me.
“All I’ve seen is the news and I’ve been stewing on it.”
Tszyu said the training session was a chance encounter that lasted no more than 25 minutes after he went to Brisbane to spar former opponent Joel Camilleri, and laughed off Horn’s concerns of learning trade secrets.
“Jeffrey is clearly rattled, he is making a big deal out of something that was a chance meeting, Dundee didn’t teach me anything I didn’t already know about Horn,” Tszyu said.
“It sounds like Jeffrey is already starting to make excuses.”
A personality clash between Kim and Horn’s head trainer Glen Rushton led to the fitness guru’s departure at the start of the year.
“It was probably Glenn’s fault, he didn’t recognise Dundee as much as he should have,” Horn said.
“But now I’m working with Chris Muckert, who is a wealth of knowledge in the fitness world, he knows how to get ready for the big occasion, he played plenty of football matches and he just knows the science of it all.
“That’s exactly what you want, to be as fresh and strong as you can be on fight day.
“It’s all about peaking at the right time and with Chris, and what he’s been able to do in the past, it’s exactly what I’m going to be able to do.”
Horn has also enlisted former Australian super-welterweight champion turned boxing trainer Tyrone Tongia as his skills coach.
For the first time in his career, Horn is now wearing a heart monitor for each training session.
Horn (20-2-1, 13KO) is the betting underdog against Sydney’s Tszyu (15-0, 11KO).
The fight will take place outdoors at Townsville’s Queensland Country Bank Stadium, and will be shown live via pay-per-view on Main Event.
BRACE FOR ‘WAR’: TRAINER BACKS HORN TO FINISH TSZYU IN SIX
Peter Badel
Jeff Horn’s trainer Glenn Rushton has warned Tim Tszyu to brace for “war” and is putting his former world champion through a punishing training regime to deliver a knockout within six rounds.
The much-hyped Horn-Tszyu fight will be officially launched tomorrow in Townsville with the coronavirus pandemic forcing the duo to delay their blockbuster until August 26 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
Adding spice to the super-welterweight showdown, Horn has been rocked by the defection of his strength-and-conditioning coach Dundee Kim, who has jumped into bed with the Tszyu enemy.
Tszyu, unbeaten in 15 fights with 11 knockouts, believes he has the speed and hunger to do a hatchet job on ‘The Hornet’ but Rushton is devising a plan to have the 32-year-old primed to inflict the Sydney slugger’s first career defeat.
“This is going to the most intense preparation we have done for a while,” Rushton said.
“When Jeff walked out of the gym (on Thursday), he was dragging his tail. We did a hard session and there will be a lot more of those in the coming weeks.
“If Jeff is fit and ready and in top shape on the night, I don’t think this fight will go much more than halfway.
“I think Jeff can finish this fight in about six rounds — that’s my belief.”
At 25, Tszyu is seven years younger than Horn and is confident he can capitalise on the punishment his rival copped in his epic triumph over Michael Zerafa in their 10-round slugfest last December.
But Rushton says the Brisbane brawler’s ring craft, honed by 20 wins from 23 fights and big-name bouts against Manny Pacquiao and Terence Crawford, will be an eye-opener for Tszyu.
“Jeff was at about 80 per cent for Zerafa II but I want him back to his Pacquaio best for this fight,” Rushton said.
“As much as I respect Tim, and he is a good fighter, I just know that Jeff at his best is a fierce opponent and has the experience of fighting guys like Terence Crawford and Manny Pacquiao.
“Tim’s opponents have never been in Jeff’s league. They just don’t have the power Jeff has got. Tim has never fought anyone like Jeff before and is not yet in the same league as Manny and Crawford.
“The way I see the fight unfolding, I think Tim will think he won’t be concerned if he drops a few early rounds because he will back himself to put Jeff on the ropes in the later rounds and he will bludgeon Jeff.
“That’s why I want to make sure Jeff has 10 good rounds in him this time. It will be a war, no doubt, but I’m confident Jeff will get the right result.”
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Originally published as Jeff Horn vs Tim Tszyu: betting markets an insult to ‘The Hornet’